Owner of Razed Home Heads Into Court Over Dogs

LONG BEACH —  Joan Morcom’s long battle with the city is about to enter a new arena: the courtroom.

Three months ago municipal officials--declaring Morcom’s house to be substandard and hazardous--bulldozed it to the ground, making her the most celebrated homeless person in Alamitos Heights on the east side, one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods.

Last month she filed a $5-million claim against the city, charging that the action was unlawful, inflicted emotional distress on her and subjected her to “public derision, ridicule, defamation and exposure.”

And this week Morcom is scheduled to appear in Long Beach Municipal Court to answer charges that she mistreated more than 20 dogs found in her house.

“I’m not guilty of that,” Morcom, 44, said in a recent interview near the vacant lot that once was the site of her home. A familiar figure in the neighborhood, she can often be seen these days walking up and down the streets pushing shopping carts containing her belongings. “That’s absolutely untrue,” she said of the charges that she mistreated her animals.

Morcom’s travails began 10 years ago when neighbors began complaining about the overgrown weeds around the tiny one-bedroom house on Winslow Avenue. She said the house had been in her family since the 1930s and that she lived there with her parents all of her life. Since the death of her parents, she became an enigmatic figure who occasionally sold firewood, according to neighbors.

Over time the complaints intensified until, in 1986, the city declared the house substandard and hazardous, ordering her to improve its condition or face having it demolished. Structural problems, city officials said, included the lack of a proper frame, inadequate roof, an unsafe electrical system and outmoded plumbing. In addition, they said, the house was infested with rats and littered with debris and animal feces, creating a major public health hazard.

Morcom has steadfastly denied that her house was in the condition described. Built entirely of cedar in 1904, she said, it was a historical gem that she was in the process of restoring. And some neighbors believe that the underlying issue was actually real estate values; that a neighborhood in which homes sell for as much as $1 million simply could not tolerate what some considered an eyesore on an ocean-view lot estimated to be worth nearly $500,000.

Retaining a lawyer, Morcom was able to stave off the wrecker’s ball for some time by obtaining a series of extensions from the city and temporary restraining orders from the court.

But on Aug. 24, the appeal process exhausted, city bulldozers arrived to do their work in front of a stunned crowd of neighbors while Morcom, crying hysterically, was taken to Harbor/UCLA Medical Center where she was detained 24 hours for psychiatric observation.

She won’t talk much about what life’s been like since then.

While maintaining a post office box in Seal Beach, those who know her say, Morcom seems to spend most of her nights with friends and neighbors whose identities she refuses to reveal. And while she has no visible income, they say, the woman--often looking unkempt in old sweaters--appears to be surviving on odd jobs provided by sympathetic neighbors.

“I don’t know where she’s staying,” said Faye McDowell, a neighbor who has known her for several years, “but I see her around. When you ask her she says she’s staying in God’s house.”

Unable to contact her any other way, the city recently posted a letter on a tree on Morcom’s lot informing her of a charge of nearly $8,000 for the demolition of her house and the storage of her goods, which Morcom picked up in a rented truck after 60 days and took to an undisclosed location. If the bill isn’t paid by mid-December, said Clark Searle, chief building inspector, it will be added as a lien on her property, which could eventually force a sale.

A more immediate problem, however, are the criminal charges stemming from the condition and number of dogs found in Morcom’s house on the day it was demolished. “There was obvious evidence of animal neglect,” said Wayne Besenty, a senior animal control officer for the city.

In addition to living in overcrowded and filthy conditions, he said, the dogs were suffering from mange and malnutrition--conditions that have since led to the deaths of some.

As a result, he said, Morcom has been charged with violating a section of the Municipal Code prohibiting crimes against animals, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $20,000 fine. In addition, Besenty said, she has been charged with violating local zoning ordinances regulating the number of dogs a resident can keep; with maintaining dogs without licenses, and with failing to inoculate her dogs for rabies. Each violation carries a potential penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine.

Morcom is scheduled to answer the charges at a pretrial hearing on Thursday.

Meanwhile, an Irvine lawyer who says he is working for free has filed the $5-million claim against the city on her behalf. “She called me and I filed (the claim) to preserve her rights,” said attorney R. Richard Farnell, adding that he does not represent Morcom on any other matter. “If you don’t file a claim with a governmental agency within six months you lose your right to sue.”

Of particular interest, Farnell said, is Morcom’s contention that she had a court order prohibiting the demolition, a claim the city denies. “That’s erroneous,” said Art Honda, a deputy city attorney, adding that the city would probably deny Morcom’s legal claim. “We know of no court issuing an order and no order was served on the city.”

Morcom says she hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue the matter in court.

“There was a grave injustice,” she said with tears in her eyes. “If someone doesn’t do something, (the city) could do it to others. I don’t want to see anybody else go through this.”